Compare Prices on Carnival Breeze Eastern Caribbean Cruises

Carnival Breeze 4/21-4/28

Sail Date:
April 2013

Destination:
Eastern Caribbean

Embarkation:
Miami

Quick background, this was my 7th cruise with Carnival and we did a trip consisting of 4 guys in their mid to late 20s. Overall, I would rate this vacation in my top 3 cruises, however, there are noticeable cutbacks on the Breeze.

Cheers Program - $43 a day for 6 nights + 15% gratuity added in came to $296 per person. Purchasing this package was worth it for us, as we hit or came close to the 15 drink limit every day. Even though we were still standing and coherent, the bartenders cut us off when we hit our 15 in fear of getting in trouble. There were a few days we were able to sneak past the 15 limit without them noticing but it all depends on how close they are paying attention. Even when you hit the 15 limit, they will not allow you to purchase additional drinks. At the end of the night if you are under your 15, they can give you capped or closed beers to take back to your room essentially allowing you to have more than 15 drinks the next day. If you are worried about More
going over the 15 drink limit, go to the red frog pub and buy a beer tower. You will get 100+ounces of beer (roughly 8 beers), and they only count this as 1 of your 15 drinks. Downside is you have to pay for the tower ($23 after the cheers program 25% off discount). Martinis, Long Islands, and Manhattans are a few suggestions from bartenders in order to get the most out of your 15 drinks. In total we each probably bought $700+ worth of drinks for the $300 set price. The cheers program also includes unlimited sodas.

Entertainment -- Didn't attend any of the theater shows as we heard carnival has cut back greatly on productions on the Breeze. Adult Comedy shows were hilarious and are worth going to all of them. Lines do start early, but seemed that everyone was able to find some seating. They had a Mentalist on our ship that we managed to watch 10 minutes of before getting up and walking out. Do not waste your time. Singer/Guitar players who played on the Lido deck and in the Red Frog Pub were pretty good and worth seeing. Ron Pass in the Piano Bar was highly entertaining and the highlight of the ship, however, he only has a few more sailings on the Breeze.

Food -- Main Dining Room food and service severely lacked compared to prior cruises. The food was still alright, but there was not a single meal I walked away from saying that was a really good dinner. Worst of my 7 cruises based on quality (I've been on dream x2, liberty, freedom, glory, destiny). The servers are over worked and this trip they lacked the personal connection. We did not even know our waiter/asst waiters names and they barely were seen during our meals (which took about 2 hours each night).This is not their fault, as Carnival is overworking them and making them take on too many tables at once. Carnival made additional cutbacks by now charging for coffee, espresso, and other after dinner drinks.

Deli -- Typical cruise Deli, no complaints
Italian Restaurant -- Worth going to a few times throughout the week. Not many people know about this place so head there early in the week for lunch (they charge for dinner).
Pizza -- Very good, and never had to wait longer than 5 minutes for a fresh pizza to come out.
Burger Joint -- Burgers are amazing. Highly recommend.

Embarkation/Debarkation - We arrived at the Port of Miami around 11am and was out by the pool having a drink by 11:30. We took SAS shuttle for $15 a person from FLL. Carnival suggested showing up after 1, but we had no problem getting on the boat earlier. I carried on a case of water and a few Gatorades, which were hand inspected to see if they contained any alcohol. Debarkation we chose self assist and was able to walk off the boat and through customs in under 15 minutes. Don't bother putting your luggage out the night before and claiming it at baggage claim. They make you wait in the theater until your # is called and it is a much easier process carrying your bags off yourself.

Overall, the Breeze was an awesome ship with a tone downed decor compared to typical Carnival Ships (had more of Island theme compared to a tacky vegas style) Carnival is making noticeable cutbacks in over working dining staff, producing lower quality food, charging for coffees, and producing terrible theater shows. This can easily be over looked by improvements with the Red Frog Pub, Comedy Club, and Guy Fieri Burger Joint. The waterslides were a lot of fun, and you can avoid lines by going on them in the evening and on days in port. I strongly believe a vacation is what you make of it, so if you nitpick everything on the boat then you will have a terrible time. Let a few little things go, and you will have an amazing vacation. Less

Compare Prices on Carnival Breeze Eastern Caribbean Cruises

Cabin review: Carnival Breeze

Great location close to the stairs. 1 flight down and you are at the piano bar, comedy club, casino, and can access the outside promenade. 2 flights down and you are at the dining room. However, next time I would prefer to be in the rear of midship, vs front of aft. Other than that personal preference no complaints with the stateroom.